Human Dignity, Education, and Political Society

Human Dignity, Education, and Political Society: A Philosophical Defense of the Liberal Arts examines the value of a person, a liberal arts education, and the political self. Today, liberal arts education faces demands to demonstrate its value as a skill-set in the workplace. The introduction of the book redirects our attention to the challenges in life that fall outside the workplace. It turns to the intrinsic value of life, the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge, the great ideas through history, and the liberating quality of a liberal arts education. The collection includes nine well-written essays, divided into three parts, by scholars representing a wide range of expertise. Part one examines a well-lived life, by discussing equality, politics, and friendship. Part two is historical, exploring dignity in ancient Greece, in the medieval period, and in the modern era. Part three turns to contemporary topics, sexual equality, childhood education, political engagement, and identity politics on the college campus. This book will inform and empower legislators, administrators, faculty, and staff in higher education to argue for the value of a liberal arts education. More broadly, this text will appeal to parents and students interested in educating the whole person. -- Kirk Fitzpatrick, Professor of Philosophy, Southern Utah University Part meditation on human nature, part call to arms, Human Dignity, Education, and Political Society: A Philosophical Defense of the Liberal Arts lays out a compelling defense of liberal arts education as an essential feature of a life well-lived. Editor James Greenaway has assembled an impressive group of contributors, each of whom tackles a different facet of the relationship between liberal arts education and our conception of the human being as a creature possessing inherent dignity. Human Dignity, Education, and Political Society offers readers an examination of the history of liberal arts education in ancient, medieval, and modern thought, as well as pointing towards how the lessons of the past can be applied to the challenges facing liberal arts education in the modern university. This volume is essential reading for those tasked with preserving and promulgating philosophic traditions. -- Kimberly Hurd Hale, Coastal Carolina University Human Dignity, Education, and Political Society is a timely and important volume that offers a philosophical defense of liberal arts education. The contributors are established educators and scholars who offer a broad range of arguments and perspectives in favor of classical liberal education while never forgetting the importance of education for preparation for the world of work. What makes this volume unique and necessary for pragmatic times, however, is the overarching theme and argument of the volume: while a large part of education is preparation for life, liberal education extends beyond what is meant by career preparation and utility to a life informed by what it means to live well. This is a must read by anyone interested in higher education and the fate of future generations of students. -- Khalil Habib, Hillsdale College